Steven later said in an interview, I returned almost a grown man, and yet my parents saw me at first as their seven-year-old. During the session, an unexpected event occurred. However, there were warning signs during his younger years. Cary, the motel handyman and champion underachiever who was arrested at a nudist colony, said in a jailhouse interview that voices told him to kill Carole and Juli | Stayner Among other things, the FBI Laboratory has found hairs in vacuum sweepings taken from Room 509 and possibly body fluid stains on a blanket (and) a latent palm print from the window sill. After the fourth murder, the FBI went looking for Cary Stayner to interview him, but initially as a witness. At that time, the Bureau stated that, while no one had yet been charged, it felt that those responsible for killing the three women at Yosemite were already behind bars. Parnell and Murphy were driving towards town when Stephen was lured into their vehicle and abducted. The brothers, four years apart in age, shared a room, but didnt get along, Steven didn't understand the rules that he was now expected to live by. Steven was told his new name was Dennis Parnell and was enrolled in school. He loved his brother. Darrell Gray Stephens, 55, Strange's roommate. It was the last time the women were seen alive. | He was a good student, a Stayner said he thought he had gotten away with the earlier crimes, but could not resist the urge to kill Armstrong after he struck up a chance conversation with her. From the Archives: Friends surprised by Cary Stayner's arrest The FBI task force investigating Yosemite issued a federal warrant for her arrest after she failed to appear in Stanislaus County drug court in June. For four weeks, police, family, and volunteers searched the area in and near Yosemite National Park by helicopter, foot, and skis. On February 12, 1999, Carole Sund, 42, her daughter Juli 15, and Silvina Pelosso 16, left their home in Eureka, California to go on vacation in the area near Yosemite National Park in the same state in the United States. The interview was conducted off camera and reported Monday on the late news. Heroism, tragedy and cold-blooded murder: The Stayner brothers But by the middle of March, their hopes faded. On July 23, when Cary Stayner was released from custody for his marijuana charge, he quickly packed up and left for Laguna del Sol, a nudist colony, according to In order to prevent Steven from escaping, Parnell was constantly moving the two of them from town to town in California. He was buried Thursday in the town of Newhall, where he had worked as a Los Angeles County sheriffs deputy. But why doesnt my dad hug me anymore? Hastings rejected new defense claims that juror misconduct prevented a fair trial. Stayner said he thought he had gotten away with the earlier crimes, but could not resist the urge to kill Armstrong after he struck up a chance conversation with her. After first flying to San Francisco, where Carole rented a red 1999 Pontiac Gran Prix, they stopped in Stockton, where Juli took part in a cheerleading contest at the University of the Pacific. "He was spunky. Stayners father, Delbert Stayner, said his son was deprived of a fair trial by a kangaroo court and a judge who ignored defense arguments. His attempt was foiled when other people were at the house at the time he was planning to commit the crimes. The Stayner family was made up of two brothers, three sisters, and parents Kay and Delbert. Although the Merced police department launched a full-fledged investigation at the time of Stevens disappearance, they werent able to find any significant leads. He also exhibited some behaviors that made others uncomfortable, including, as he later admitted, exposing himself to his sister's friend. By Friday, July 23rd, Stayner, in the meantime, had disappeared from the area, by the time agents came to arrest him. Cary Stayner Today: Where Is He Now in 2021? | Heavy.com He had given the FBI details "only the killer would know in such specificity that agents were able to recover evidence confirming his confession. Its manager had seen a story on television, recognized Stayner's photo as one of his guests, and notified the FBI. Management found him a hard worker and honest. Suspect at Yosemite Had Fantasy of Killing Women He was also angry about how his truck had been searched. Previously, the defense had maintained that the FBI had coerced the confession. Cary Stayner, also known as The Yosemite Killer, was convicted nearly 20 years ago in the murders of four people in 1999 while he was working as a hotel ", The FBI was reluctant to finger Stayner because, they, and many others, did not believe that Stayner acted by himself, given the brazen killing of the three women in the Cedar Lodge Motel and the disposal of the bodies. WebThe story of Steven and Cary Stayner will leave you in absolute disbelief. Stayner When she did not appear as planned, her would-be host had phoned the park. A Shade Of His Brother - TIME How can one family, contain two completely contrasting children? It was discovered beyond a campground adjacent to her living quarters in the Foresta community, a group of 30 cabins for use by park workers. To the dismay of the Stayner family, the case went cold. She was working for the Yosemite Institute for the past year and had worked on education programs through a partnership with the National Park Service. Cary looked out for Steven, according to Cary Stayner's former classmate Jack Bungart. Yosemite Victims Were Raped - CBS News I never recognized either one of them.". Local police and Yosemite Park Rangers began to search the area where the missing three were last seen. Cary Stayner Yosemite Park Killer: When A Victim Turns Into A Murderer The car was hidden off a spur road where locals dump old refrigerators, cars, and washing machines. He wanted the world to take note.. Latent fingerprints were also been lifted from the interior of Joie Armstrong's truck, which Stayner admits to touching during his encounter with her. 'I try to stay strong because I know that's what you'd want your baby to be, but, Mommy, I don't want you to leave me.'". Im so proud of the way Carole and Juli lived, and Im so ashamed of Stayner.. For FBI agent Jeff Rinek, it was the climax of a On Dec. 4, 1972, Steven, 7, was walking alone to his familys home in Merced, California, when he was coaxed into the car of convicted child rapist Kenneth Parnell, who was posing as a minister. Cary Stayner, now 57, was convicted of the murders of Armstrong, the Sunds and Pelosso, and sentenced to death for all except Armstrong's. He was known to take refuge in nearby Yosemite, where hed drive up and get lost in nature. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, "(A witness claimed that) Stayner was angry about authorities seizing his backpack after he was questioned earlier that day. There, they got a room with a plan to stay for a few days. ", Steven Stayner and Cary Stayner in the baseball cap in the background. Then Carole's wallet turned up in Modesto, which included money and credit cards. You know, hung out with him, played with him.. Kenneth"Soldier" Stewart, 24, a former cellmate of Dykes who was charged with attempted murder. The FBI Laboratory has also found possible bodily fluid stains on a bed sheet taken from her residence. Teresa Kay Gray, 36, of Modesto. Police found her car in front of her cabin, packed for the trip. Stevens death, along with the death of his uncle soon afterward, reportedly had a serious impact on Cary Stayners mental health and well-being. The Bureau relocated its headquarters from Yosemite to Modesto at this point and, on February 28, twelve days after the women's disappearance, hinted that was is no longer treating the Sund incident as a missing persons case, but as murder. On days off he would escape to Laguna Del Sol, a nudist colony in Sacramento County. According to Special Agent Christopher Hopkins , both the FBI's Evidence Response Team and the Mariposa County Sheriff's Office collected items of potential interest from Room 509 at the Cedar Lodge Motel, the room in which Stayner sexually assaulted Juli Sund and Silvina Pelosso and murdered both Carole Sund and Silvina. Stayner This time, agents detained him and forced him to answer more questions. On Good Morning America in March 1980, Steven shared with host David Hartman that it felt "great" to be home. One brother was subjected to just unspeakable horror for years, but by all appearances, he was a happy-go-lucky, jovial kid with a girlfriend. In the Bureau's mind, this time it had the right man. However, given Californias statewide moratorium on capital punishment, it doesnt appear that hell be executed anytime soon the states last execution was held in 2006. Angelia Dale, who testified before the federal grand jury. Very seldom did he get into trouble. Her mother had been dating him and he had decided to kill them on Valentines Day. In his interview, Stayner claimed that hair from his body was left on the bedspread in their motel room, but he returned later and changed the bed. In 1999, Carole Sund, 42, her daughter Juli Sund, 15, and Juli's friend, Silvina Pelosso, 16, went missing while visiting Yosemite Park. Timothy Lee White, 5, gets a piggyback ride from 14-year-old Steven Stayner at a news conference in Ukiah, California, in 1980, Kenneth Parnell stops the car and goes to a payphone, he comes back and tells Steven, Your parents, I just spoke to them. He also struggled in high school where he was bullied for the abuse he had endured. I went to ask if Cary wanted to talk, reporter Ted Rowlands said. Four men were considered the main murder suspects in the initial inquiries. The Cedar Lodge hired him as a handyman in 1997 and gave him the use of a small apartment on the top floor. He said, I want you to get a hold of some producers in Los Angeles. Connecticut Serial Killer William Devin Howell Describes The Shockin Arrested on an unrelated drug charge, he has been questioned about the Yosemite case. Cary, as the older brother, had a very strange relationship now with his younger brother, Steven, who was getting all of this attention and who was a different person, former KNTV reporter Ted Rowlands told ABC News. Stayner Raped 2 Teenagers, Affidavit Says Stayner said to investigators I want you to get a hold of some producers in Los Angeles. How intended victim of 1999 Yosemite killer views the tragedy "The only time Steve would kill anything like a fish is because we were gonna eat it. Stayner He usually ate lunch and dinner at the motel restaurant. He is currently in his 60s and still on death row while incarcerated at San Quentin State Prison. Steven Stayner was just seven-years-old when he was abducted a few blocks from his home in Merced, Concluding the interview, he addressed the victims' families: "I am sorry their loved ones were where they were when they were. They then headed out for Cedar Lodge in El Portal on February 14, which is located on Yosemite's western slope. Despite this, he never appeared to behave lewdly nor perversely in public. Rachel Lou Campbell, 36, of Modesto, was charged in April with stealing checks and credit cards, and converting them into cash and merchandise worth $365,000. They finally caught up with him at the Laguna Del Sol nudist colony, which he frequently visited. Unofficially, Jens Sund offered a $250,000 reward for information that would lead to the return of the missing women. In 1972, Stayners In the end, Stayner confessed without the promise of child pornography or reward money for his parents. Woman recalls moment family learned they were target of 1999 Parnell was convicted on kidnapping and false imprisonment charges. The trio stayed at the lodge in February 1999, during which time Cary talked his way into their room, where he sexually assaulted and murdered all of them. Billy Joe Strange, 39, an El Portal parolee who worked at the Cedar Lodge lounge and restaurant, where the murdered women were last seen. After a couple of weeks, he upped the sum to $300,000. A woman named Lenna learned in 1999 that her mother, her sister and her had nearly been murdered by Cary Stayner. All of its been bad, Delbert Stayner said of his familys life. But seven years later in February 1980, Steven miraculously reappeared. Steven told the police what happened to him and Timothy and he was also able to tell them his real name was Steven, not Dennis. By subscribing to this BDG newsletter, you agree to our. He denied any role in the Yosemite slayings. They lived in the farming town of Merced, California, the Gateway to Yosemite. Vacuum sweepings were taken from inside Joies house, where Stayner claims to have bound her with duct tape, yielded hair evidence. But it took less than six months for another murder in the area to show them that the killer was still at large this time, the victim was 26-year-old naturalist Joie Armstrong. Soundtracks. When Steven didnt return from school that afternoon, his parents sounded the alarm. She had probably been murdered on the evening of Wednesday, July 21. The prosecution team was headed by George Williamson and the defense team was headed by Marcia Morrissey. It was badly decomposed and her throat had been cut. Eugene "Rufus" Dykes, 32, also of Modesto and Larwick's half-brother was arrested in March. He was arrested on March 5 when he allegedly reported to his parole officer with liquor on his breath. Shortly after Stevens death, an uncle with whom Cary Stayner was very close was shot and killed in a home they shared together. Items included in the Television News search service. ", Stayner's apartment was searched later in the day and the authorities discovered evidence that linked him to Armstrong's murder. The two brothers of the Stayner family are both famous - one experienced horror in the hands of a child molester, Steven, and the other, Cary, the serial killer in Yosemite. In 1997, Stayner got a job as a handyman at the Cedar Lodge, seven miles from the gate of the national park, where he worked for 2 years before the murders.. Jens had scheduled to meet them at the San Francisco airport that evening on his way to Arizona, to where the others were to accompany him. She was subpoenaed because she is a friend of Dykes and Larwick. "Privately, some members of the Sund-Pelosso task force were saying the same things to the media. Check-out had apparently been done in advance and the keys were left on the room desk. He then carried Juli to a vista point near Lake Don Pedro, pledged his love, and then cut her throat as the sun rose. Cary Stayner went from being the brother of child abductee Steven Stayer to a full-blown serial killer. I wouldnt think that he would think of himself as one, but he is a hero.". In a voice that seemed relieved to be unburdened from its depth a long-kept secret, Stayner blurted, "I am guilty. Woman recalls moment family learned they were target of 1999 Then there was another murder. Quotes The Sund family's worst fears were confirmed when a hiker wandered onto the site of a burned-out red 1999 Pontiac, hidden off Highway 108, in the Stanislaus Forest region on March 18. Then all of a sudden it's gone. After graduation from Merced (California) High School, Stayner worked as a window installer at a glass company. Captive Audience Revisits Steven And Cary Stayner's Stories But, says Delbert, puberty-aged Cary endured some emotional hardships because of that incident. Parnell worked at the Yosemite Lodge, located about two hours away from the Stayner home. Carole and her husband, Jens, 43, owned a realtors business in the Stockton area. Cary Stayner was sentenced Thursday to die for committing three murders near Yosemite National Park in 1999. Steven Stayner had a new father figure, and it was Kenneth Parnell, who by day, was his father, and by night, was his rapist. In 2002, Cary Stayner was convicted of first-degree murder on four counts and sentenced to death. Ashley Stayner is a self-professed true crime fan. "He had a great personality," said Lori Duke, who dated Steven in high school but knew him as Dennis. Chief James Maddock said he himself questioned whether the Bureau could have done anything to prevent Armstrong's killing. The issue was no longer who committed the murders but whether Stayner was insane at the time and whether the confession to the FBI agents was coerced. By the time Steven was 14, he had been abused and manipulated by Parnell for seven years and Parnell and Steven together realized that Steven was growing up and that he was no longer going to be controlled by Parnell and they would need to find someone else that they could sexually abuse. The American Court TV (now TruTV) television series Mugshots released an episode on the Stayner case titled "Cary Stayner The Cedar Lodge Killings". [29] In 2018, the Reelz channel aired an hour-long documentary about the murders titled Yosemite Park Killer. Cary was off anybody and everybody who met him will tell Because of the discovery of Sund's wallet in suburban Modesto, police, and FBI searched "the logical routes in and out of that spot, interviewing homeowners and business owners and others who may have seen them." On Saturday, July 24, FBI agents announced at a press conference that a man was in custody on strong suspicion of murder and that a "significant announcement" would be made shortly. Cary always wore a hat because he was compulsively pulling his hair out. He paid a local kid to ride with him to the town of Ukiah, California and he told to go and find him a boy. That same day, Stayner allowed himself to be interviewed by a reporter from KNTV. But, to no avail. He had no criminal record and his only encounter with the law was for marijuana use in 1997. Emotionally, Cary Stayner had a tough time during his childhood. I was the oldest and all that. Steven & Cary Stayner: Hero vs Killer Brother - YouTube On March 1, 1980, Steven waited until Parnell was at work and then fled the house with Timothy. Or certainly, nothing noticed by his colleagues at the motel. William Mapother is a cousin of, The unsub bears some similarities with Cary Stayner, older brother of infamous kidnapping victim Steven Stayner (. Jens couldn't accompany them on this trip because he needed to prepare for an upcoming business trip. Sandy Cox, whose husband owned the window company where Stayner worked for in Atwater, says, "We've known Cary since he was a little boyIt just doesn't match up. Decades later, Stevens older brother, Cary Stayner, made headlines when he was arrested and convicted of the serial slayings of four females. Initially, the police didn't have any solid leads as to who killed them. Convicted in 1978 for rape and robbery, he was jailed on March 14 for failing to register as a sex offender. In (the) interview, Stayner said he had fantasized about killing women for the last 30 years and described in detail how he murdered all the women, He had strangled Pelosso and Carole Sund in their rented cabin in the Cedar Lodge motel, then took Juli Sund to a lake, where he killed her early the next morning. Whites stepfather, Roger Gitlin, said White died April 1, 2010, of an apparent pulmonary embolism. "Her mother, sisters, and a family friend had been missing for a month by the time Gina Sund read her poem in front of a thousand or so people who gathered in Modesto," writes Time. The suspect, Cary Stayner, 37, had been one of the people questioned after the triple killings in February, but, at that time no evidence linked him directly to the crime and he had been released. It was then that Steven's nightmare began as Murphy brought him to Kenneth Parnell, a known pedophile. On February 15, the ladies hiked into Yosemite National Park on one of the many trails. Crazy Credits By the end of June, the FBI had reviewed the testimonies and the evidence linked to the suspects in custody. "Thats when I told him, 'You need to go to a doctor, Cary.'" Investigators searched his truck and confiscated his backpack for examination. FBI agent Nick Rossi said on February 26, "At this point, we have not yet uncovered evidence to allow us to determine conclusively whether this was a tragic accident or a criminal act. Two weeks later, FBI agent James Maddock, now placed in charge of the investigation, told the press, "We feel almost certain that the women were victims of a violent crime.". Steven Stayner helped another child escape from a pedophile, after enduring years of abuse and not wanting to see the child experience the same fate. He died in jail in 2008 at the age of 76. By the end of that evening, the FBI felt it had gathered enough evidence to arrest Cary Stayner for murder, Sunday morning, they rushed him to Fresno to officially lodge a complaint, then to Sacramento on Monday where he was put before the courts. Stayner, 38, has been charged with murder in the July 21 death of naturalist Joie Armstrong. "He stated that he felt like jumping in a truck, driving it through the shop and killing the boss and killing everybody in the office, and then torching the place," friend Mark Marchese said in 1999. I want a movie-of-the-week made about my story,'" There was a movie made about his brother, Steven Stayner, and he wanted the same and for the world to take notice. Cary Stayner confesses to killing four innocent women in 1999: After Steven said his mother would be interested in donating, Murphy offered to take the boy home. For two weeks, Steven watched Timothy suffer the separation from his family. It seemed as though he had a compulsion with trying to get close to women or be sexual with them, but he was unable to develop any sort of interpersonal relationships with any women. Caroles parents, Francis and Carole Carrington, appeared on the Good Morning, America TV show, to ask for the prayers of Americans and their help in locating their daughter and the children. 51K views 3 years ago 20/20 Extra: For the first time, 20 years after the Yosemite murders, Lenna speaks out exclusively on what she learned about Cary Soon after, he confessed to murdering Carole Sund, Juli Sund, and Silvina Pelosso once in custody. After the fourth murder, the FBI went looking for Cary Stayner to interview him, but initially as a witness. At that time, Steven had been forced to endure sexual abuse by his kidnapper, whom he finally turned in to the police. But he was surprised that did not find his wife at the airport and assumed she had flown ahead, The next day, he tried to contact them again and failed and he called the police. TV NEWS : Search Captions. Borrow Broadcasts : TV Archive : CNN.com During the first crash, the truck jackknifed before hitting the car. Something was clearly very, very wrong. Cedar Lodge, 9966 CA-140, El Portal, CA 95318. Upon release, the FBI warned him not to leave El Portal. Steven Stayners fame was short-lived. He was arrested in May on an unrelated crime charge but was soon released. Tragically, Steven Stayner was killed in a 1989 motorcycle accident at the age of 24. Silvina Pelossos mother, Raquel, said, I just cannot understand how so many peopledidn't realize that maybe (Stayner) was the man since I heard that he was interviewed some time ago. Jeffrey Wayne Keeney, 32, of Modesto. Cary Stayner confesses to killing four innocent women in 1999: Part 9 Two FBI agents were eating pizza with Stayner when he suddenly admitted he murdered Joie When Cary Stayner was questioned by FBI agents, he immediately confessed to the four Yosemite Park murders and provided a detailed accounting of his crimes. In a jailhouse interview with a television reporter, he said he did not rape any of the women. You could see that he wanted to play and be with kids and be normal. "I remember going out one night after Steve disappeared and wishing on a star that my brother would come back home," Cary reportedly told Mike Echols, author of the book I Know My First Name Is Steven. After several days, the bodies were identified as Carole Sund and Silvina Pelosso through dental records. Real Crime 1.23M subscribers Join Subscribe 6.7K 562K views 1 year ago Also known as the Yosemite Park Killer, Cary Stayner murdered four women in 1999 Had no interest in girls, had no interest in people, he was just a creepy loner. The new three-part Hulu docuseries Captive Audience explores the tragic story of the Stayner family specifically the fraught lives of their two sons, Steven Stayner and Cary Stayner. Specifically, the media scrutiny seemed to affect his older brother Cary, who clashed with his brother after his return. The other Sund children believed their mother and sister Juli would be returned. He received the death penalty for killing four women, three of whom had been staying at the Cedar Lodge, where Stayner was employed as a handyman. Over the next few weeks, a task force including FBI agents and law enforcers from four surrounding counties, arrested several known sex offenders, drug users, and ex-convicts with a record of violence from within a 75-square-mile area between Modesto and Sonoma. I guess seven years changed him, too. Cory gets emotional as she describes how he fell through the cracks of familial or institutional care. During an off-camera jailhouse interview in Sacramento following his arrest, Cary admitted to Armstrong's murder as well as the murders of Carole Sund, 42, her He told Hartman that his parents "didnt change that much," but his brother and sisters, "they changed a lot. It then came out that Steven had been kidnapped by Parnell, who had been sexually abusing Steven while also posing as his father and forcing him to go by the name Dennis Parnell. That evening, the group grabbed some videos from the lodge's service desk to watch in their room. After they stopped trying to teach me the fundamentals all over again, it got better. Agents had interviewed Stayner, a handyman at the Cedar Lodge where the tourists had stayed, and later dismissed him as a suspect. The FBI pushed for Strange's arrest, but he denied any part in the triple murders. Because he was the handyman at the Cedar Lodge in El Portal where the Sund & Pelosso group had stayed before they were murdered, his questioning at that time seems to have been more routine than anything. In May 2002, Stayner pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity in the 1999 murder of Pelosso and the Sunds. One of those arrested, and later released, was Cary Stayner, who worked at the Cedar Lodge as the handyman. Against the odds, he flourished there. So while Parnell was at work, Steven ran away with Timothy, and the two hitchhiked to a police station in Ukiah, California. Connections Cary Stayner yosemite murders True Crime Cary was 11 years old at the time, and deeply upset about his brother's disappearance. Web6,597 views Jan 24, 2019 56 Dislike Share ABC10 172K subscribers On July 26, 1999, former ABC10 reporter Tim Daly went down to the Cedar Lodge where Cary Stayner In February 1980, Parnell decided to kidnap a new victim. However, when they found Cary at a nudist colony nearby and brought him in for questioning, he quickly confessed to Armstrongs murder, and soon after admitted he was also responsible for the first three killings. The inn staff claimed that when they cleaned the room the next morning, they had detected no evidence of foul play or anything that made them suspicious. IMDb Cary didnt emerge as a suspect during the initial investigation, and the FBI actually believed they had the people responsible for the killings in custody. Cary Stayner Span of crimes FebruaryJuly 1999 Country United States State (s) California Date apprehended 1999 7 more rows By this point, Cary Stayner had a couple of nervous breakdowns. At a press conference outside the Stayner house, everyone was smiling, but Cary in his baseball cap wasnt smiling at all.